Narrative
Ажар
Not translated into English
Kasymaly Bayalinov · 1928
Synopsis
During the Ürkün, the exodus of the Kyrgyz to China after the revolt of 1916, young Ajar loses her parents. An orphan, she is sold in China, then married by force to an old man, and dreams of regaining her freedom. Through her fate, the story tells of the suffering endured by the Kyrgyz during those years of flight.
Context
The story appeared in 1928. It is regarded as one of the first prose texts of Kyrgyz literature, and specialists still debate whether it is a short story or a short novel. The author draws on what he himself lived through as a child during the Ürkün, which the story depicts realistically. It remains his best-known work. According to Radio Azattyk, it was translated into Czech, English and German through the Soviet body in charge of cultural exchanges with foreign countries.
Who it is for
To discover the first steps of Kyrgyz prose narrative and the memory of the Ürkün, the catastrophe of a whole people.
Prizes and reception
The poet Gülsayra Momunova sees in it the story of the tragedy of the whole Kyrgyz people, still relevant today.